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The Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia is the government in exile that Georgia recognises as the legal government of Abkhazia. This pro-Georgian government maintained a foothold on Abkhazian territory, in the upper Kodori Valley from July 2006 until it was forced out by fighting in August 2008.
- Principality of Abkhazia
The Principality of Abkhazia (Georgian: აფხაზეთის სამთავრო,...
- Kingdom of Abkhazia
The Kingdom of Abkhazia (Georgian: აფხაზთა სამეფო,...
- Abkhaz
Abkhaz, also known as Abkhazian, is a Northwest Caucasian...
- Flag
The flag of the Republic of Abkhazia was created in 1991 by...
- Aslan Bzhania
Aslan Georgievich Bzhania (Abkhaz: Аслан Гьаргь-иԥа Бжьаниа,...
- Partially Recognised
Allegory of the recognition of the Empire of Brazil and its...
- Ethnic Cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia
In 1992, the political situation in Abkhazia changed into a...
- Georgia–Russia Relations
Russia and Georgia have had relations for centuries. The...
- Emblem
The Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia has...
- Principality of Abkhazia
- Overview
- Geography
- History
Abkhazia, autonomous republic in northwestern Georgia that formally declared independence in 1999. Only a few countries—most notably Russia, which maintains a military presence in Abkhazia—recognize its independence. Bordering the eastern shores of the Black Sea, Abkhazia consists of a narrow coastal lowland broken by mountain spurs, followed by a ...
The sharp relief in close proximity to the sea gives Abkhazia a wet climate. Near-subtropical conditions prevail in the lowland, where the average January temperature remains above the freezing point and annual rainfall is 47 to 55 inches (1,200 to 1,400 mm). On the mountain slopes, climatic conditions are more severe and precipitation is heavier. Wide areas of the lowland and foreland zones have been cleared of the forests of oak, beech, and hornbeam that once covered Abkhazia.
The majority of the population is concentrated in the coastal lowland, where the larger settlements are located—the capital, Sokhumi, Ochʾamchʾire, and the resort centres of Gagra and Novy Afon. Prior to a separatist rebellion in the early 1990s led by ethnic Abkhaz, ethnic Georgians had made up almost half of Abkhazia’s population, while ethnic Abkhaz had accounted for less than one-fifth; Armenians and Russians made up the remainder. In 1993, however, most Georgians and some Russians and Armenians fled Abkhazia for other parts of Georgia.
The Abkhaz were vassals of the Byzantine Empire when they became Christian under Justinian I (c. 550). In the 8th century the independent kingdom of Abkhazia was formed. Later a part of Georgia, it secured its independence in 1463 only to come under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. Islam subsequently replaced Christianity in parts of the region. In 1810 a treaty with Russia was signed acknowledging a protectorate. Russia annexed Abkhazia in 1864, and the Soviet authorities proclaimed its autonomy as a region in 1919 and raised it to the status of a republic in 1921. It became an autonomous republic within the Georgian republic in 1930, and it remained part of Georgia when the latter attained independence in 1991.
In 1992, secessionists in Abkhazia staged an armed revolt against the Georgian central government in a bid to obtain Abkhazian independence. The rebels defeated Georgian forces and established control over Abkhazia in 1993, and in May 1994 a cease-fire was arranged. Despite the cease-fire and the subsequent deployment of a largely Russian peacekeeping force in the region, hostilities continued, and in 1999 the region formally declared its independence, a move that was not recognized by the international community. Georgian accusations of Russian support for separatist ambitions in the region, as well as criticism of the ease with which Abkhazian residents were able to obtain Russian passports (by 2002 more than one-half of the population of Abkhazia had acquired them), served to strain relations between the two countries. The conflict was further aggravated following the 2004 election in Georgia of Pres. Mikheil Saakashvili, who made Georgian territorial unity and control of the country’s separatist regions—Abkhazia among them—a political priority. In 2006 Georgia was able to take control of a portion of Abkhazia’s Kodori Gorge, although the rest of Abkhazia remained outside Georgian control.
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In the years that followed, Russia became increasingly influential in Abkhazia. Hostilities erupted in August 2008 in another Georgian separatist region, South Ossetia, as Georgian forces engaged with local separatist fighters as well as with Russian troops who had crossed the border there. Violence spread rapidly to other parts of Georgia, including Abkhazia, where Russia massed additional forces in the days following the initial outbreak of warfare in South Ossetia. Though a French-brokered cease-fire called for the withdrawal of Russian forces, Abkhazia later allowed Russia to take control of its border, railways, and airport and to control and build military bases in the region.
Domestically, the region’s de facto government struggled to maintain a stable representative government. Though about half the population was Georgian, Armenian, or Russian, those ethnic groups remained largely absent from the Abkhaz-dominated government. Georgians in particular remained disenfranchised and were pressured to take on Abkhaz names and identities. Abkhazian Pres. Sergei Bagapsh, an ethnic Abkhaz who married into a Georgian family, sought unsuccessfully to extend citizenship to Georgians in Abkhazia and to come to a settlement with Georgia on an independent Abkhazia. After the hostilities between Georgia and Russia in 2008, he was criticized for handing too many Abkhazian assets to Russia. He remained a focus of much opposition until he died in office from heart failure in 2011.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Abkhazia in antiquity. The written history of Abkhazia largely begins with the coming of the Milesian Greeks to the coastal Colchis in the 6th-5th centuries BC. They founded their maritime colonies along the eastern shore of the Black Sea, with Dioscurias being one of the most important centers of trade.
The Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia [a] is an administration established by Georgia as the legal and only government of Abkhazia. Abkhazia has been de facto independent of Georgia – though with limited international recognition – since the early 1990s. Ruslan Abashidze, elected in May 2019, is the current head of the ...
People also ask
Is Abkhazia a state or a country?
Is Abkhazia a pro-Georgian government?
When did Abkhazia become an autonomous republic?
Which countries recognise Abkhazia?
Aug 27, 2015 · Despite formally remaining an autonomous republic within Soviet Georgia, there was very little sign of genuine autonomy, and Abkhaz ethnic culture was suppressed in favour of Georgian.
Jun 18, 2023 · Abkhazia’s independence is not recognized by any international organization or country (except for Russia and Nicaragua) and is regarded as an autonomous republic of Georgia (Georgian: აფხაზეთის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა, Abkhaz: Аҧснытәи Автономтәи ...
Aug 16, 2023 · Under Georgia's official designation, it is an autonomous republic with a Tbilisi-recognized autonomous government in exile. Tbilisi does not recognize the legality of the Sukhumi-based Abkhazian government. Abkhazia very much depends on Russian support and funding, and has an uncertain political situation similar to that of South Ossetia.
